There were multiple times over the years that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were supposed to meet, but the bouts never came to fruition.
Nurmagomedov may be putting Ferguson behind him for good now, as the UFC lightweight champion says Ferguson is finished.
"Nobody can be the same for a long time -- one day, somebody gonna beat you, something gonna happen, God doesn't give nobody the power, reaction, mental, one level, always,'" Nurmagomedov said to Brett Okamoto of ESPN. "One day you're going to go down and his day come. It was May. Tony Ferguson is finished now. He's gonna come back, and someone gonna beat him again, I believe. Because when you take damage like this, you'll never going to be the same. Never. Even if you're Tony Ferguson."
Ferguson is still ranked #3 in the UFC lightweight division and has won 12 of his last 13 in the UFC. The lightweight champion wouldn’t mind seeing Ferguson fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 254.
"Right now, [Ferguson] have choice," Nurmagomedov said. "He can come to Fight Island and fight Islam. Islam have six-fight win streak, he is almost in the Top 10. Why not? Why he don't want to take this fight? UFC is going to give him good money. Ali is going to give him $100,000 and $100,000. After this, maybe he can fight for the title if he win. But I think his time is finished."
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